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tv   Newsline  PBS  May 21, 2012 7:00pm-7:30pm PDT

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nato leaders stick to their schedule for withdrawing combat troops from afghanistan. international forces invaded afghanistan more than a decade ago to target the taliban and al qae qaeda. now nato leaders are preparing for the end of the war that has claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers, militants, and civilians. they've reconfirmed their plan to wrap up their troops' combat role by the end of 2014. the leaders ended up a two-day summit monday in chicago. u.s. president barack obama says
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afghan force also take the lead in combat operations across the country in 2013. >> there is real improvement in those areas where we've had a significant presence. you can see the taliban not having a foothold, that there is genuine improvement in the performance of afghan national security forces. >> obama and the other leaders decided to temporarily increase the number of afghan security personnel to 350,000. the size of the force will eventually be cut back to 230,000. nato members will continue to offer financial assistance to afghanistan, after their troops pull out. but there are concerns about the sustainability of the support because many nato countries are dealing with financial difficulties. now despite those economic challenges, japan's foreign minister is urging nato leaders to continue to help afghanistan,
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after they withdraw their combat troops. koichiro gemba made the appeal in a speech at the summit in chicago. he says it's important afghanistan become stable after nato troops leave so it can realize its potential. gemba noted the japanese government will host a minute steerial level meeting on july 8th in tokyo to discuss the country's reconstruction and development. he's urging nato member states to assist afghanistan for ten years after troops pull out. japan is not part of the north atlantic treaty organization. gemba attended the summit to promote the tokyo meeting. he spoke to u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton before leaving chicago. he told her japan will continue to help afghanistan improve its security after 2015. iaea director-general yukiya amano said he held comprehensive
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discussions with iranian officials on the country's nuclear program. he spoke with said jalili in tehran man. amano said there was a good atmosphere to the meeting and it will have a positive impact on nuclear talks between iran and the five u.n. security council permanent members plus germany in the iraqi capital baghdad on wednesday. jalil said he had positive talks with amano on issues such as nuclear nonproliferation. iran described the talks as candid. the two sides are thought to have discussed ways to carry out nuclear verification. the iaea wants access to the parchon military site, experts expect it is being used for nuclear experiments. a terrorist group in yemen with ties to al qaeda is claiming responsibility for a deadly bombing. the explosion happened monday in
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the capital sanaa. it killed at least 90 soldiers. spokesperson for the group tells nhk the suicide bombing was revenge for killings by government forces. he's vowing militants in yemen will carry out similar attacks in the future. officials with countries defense ministries say a suicide bomber dressed in a military uniform detonated a device near the presidential palace. the troops were rehearsing for a parade to celebrate the country's national day on tuesday. no high-ranking military officials were injured. the terrorist group had owon control of parts of southern yemen but a recent campaign of government forces and thes u.s. military has uprooted the militants from some of their strongholds. ministers from the two most powerful eurozone nations continue to disagree on financial matters. ai uchida joins us now that story. ai what, is going on there? >> catherine, france wans wants
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to issue common eurozone bonds, they see that as a way to ease concerns over the region's debt problems but germany has once again opposed france's proposal. newly appointed minister pierre moscovichi met his counterpart ahead of an eu summit meeting on wednesday. the money would be used to spur economic growth across the region. bashoybl maintained germany's cautious stance on the bonds and said there are differences of opinion between the two nations. the two sides remain split over greece. the german minister said the debt-strapped country should go ahead with the austerity measures the french minister said growth needs to be considered as well.
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now let's get a check on the markets. overnight the dow jones industrial average jumped more than 1% to close monday at 12,504. that snapped a six-day losing streak to post big gains due to brighter growth prospects. for more on how stocks are trading in tokyo, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning to you. some encouraging comments from china regarding growth, that seemed to have restored some confidence in stocks. >> definitely, ai, very good morning to you. we did hear some encouraging words there, and that boosted markets. let's have a look at how we're kicking off this morning actually, this tuesday morning, both indexes trading higher there, the nikkei up by over 1%. now, growth of course has been a major focus for markets, whether it be in the u.s., china or europe. so encouraging words from china's leaders yesterday, did help boost markets, especially in the commodity sector there is, we did see a spike higher in wti crude prices.
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premier wen jiabao and a visit to central china did say that growth was one of the major priorities for china. also in the camp david meeting in washington, the leaders will also agreed greece should remain in the eurozone so encouragement seeping into the marketplace. we did see that reflected in european markets as well as u.s. markets and now we're seeing that translated into the nikkei and the topix there. now, the nasdaq i got to mention that, was also boosted considerably after we did see share in apple trading higher, you see that coming up on the screens there. that was on hopes of new line-up of products this summer, also apple had been heavily oversold in the last few weeks. facebook, however, which did have its initial public offering on friday, did a tumble more than 10%, so a bit of a mixed picture there but apple winning the day. the nikkei, topix in the mix, the topix hitting a new year closing low, but with the bank
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of japan meeting kicking off today, two-day meeting, the market players might be a touch hesitant to make any major moves. no change is expected from the bank of japan policy. however, a lot of eyes will be focused on how the yen trades and just as the bank of japan is really trying to maintain a weaker yen. let's have a look at the currency levels as well, and the dollar/yen there, 79.36-40, euro/yen, 101.62-69, actually holding pretty even keel so far no, major, sudden volatile moves so far this morning. ai? >> ramin, is there anything else that we can expect in. >> yes, there is economic data, let's not forget economic data, after all the events in europe. still a bit of a focus there. we have housing existing home sales data in the u.s. later today and durable goods orders which will be coming up later in the week so still some fundamentals for economists to
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tackle with, but of course, the european events and growth issues really the main issues there, but the nikkei and the topix higher this tuesday morning. back to you. >> ramin, thanks a ard from the exchange. it looks like other markets open this hour in the asia-pacific are also higher so i'll leave you with the latest in market figures. senior diplomats from japan, south korea and the united states met in seoul to talk about how to deal with a common threat.
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they agreed to take concerted action against north korea if the reclusive nation tests another nuclear weapon. it's the first time the group met since north korean authorities failed to launch what they called a satellite-carrying rocket. >> if the dplk goes for further escalation, we are to take unified and coordinated actions and responses. >> we're united in our resolve to respond, not just the three allies but russia and china as well. >> u.s. delegate glyn davies again pushed china to play a greater role in preventing north korean officials from carrying out provocative acts. the u.n. security council adopted a statement condemning last month's launch. that sparked concerns the north leaders could respond with the new nuclear tests. concerns about regional
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security are encouraging old foes to forge new alliances. south korean defense officials are working to find ways to cooperate with their chinese counterparts. the nations fought in the 1950s during the korean war. >> translator: we're in talks to seal a mutual logistic support treaty which will enable our militaries to exchange things such as fuel and water. >> south korean defense ministry spokesperson kim min-seok gave details of the agreement. if both sides signed a deal, it will be the first of its kind in the field of defense, but some challenges stand in the way. north korean leaders are expected to protest against the agreement. south korean authorities are also trying to sign a similar accord with the japanese government, but domestic disapproval of the linkup prompted the defense minister kim kwan-jin to postpone his visit to japan later this month. spokespersons say negotiions are still going on. a roadside security camera
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captured video of a bus accident in china. the crash injured 14 people. it happened as a passenger was arguing with the driver about her payment. the bus was traveling sunday in the eastern province of zhejiang. it veered off the road and slammed into a fire station. the fee meal driver was among those injured. local media say a 49-year-old woman got into a dispute with the driver over whether she'd paid by swiping her electronic card. the passenger took her seat, but soon she returned to the driver to demand an apology. the media reports say the driver lost control of the bus, after the woman tugged her arm. police arrested the passenger monday. she's quoted as saying she might have slapped the driver for being rude, but she insists she never grabbed the steering wheel. nato leaders meet to plan their afghan pullout.
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but a deadly taliban attack shows how volatile the country still is. patchari raksawong in bangkok has details of another deadly attack. >> a suicide bomber killed at least two foreign troops in southern afghanistan on sunday. now, the attack appeared timed to coincide with the nato summit. the associated press reports that two nato service members were killed. afghan officials say the attack was carried out by insurgents at a police checkpoint in the province of uruzgan. six children were also reportedly wounded. a taliban spokesperson has claimed responsibility. sunday's deaths bring the number of foreign troops killed in afghanistan this month to 24 and 156 so far this year. some observers have questioned whether afghanistan's own security forces are ready to take over amid the lingering violence. but the rising death toll among
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allied forces is likely to increase domestic pressure on western governments to bring their troops home. east timor has reached its tenth anniversary of independence from indonesia. but for many observers, the pace of development in this impoverished country remains painfully slow. we got the perspective of a foreign writer who's been tracking east timor since long before independence, and he remains cautiously optimistic. nhk world's desi tungen reports from the capital delhi. >> reporter: east timor gained independence on may 20th, 2002, after a quarter century rule by indonesia and interim government of the united nations. a ceremony marking ten years since independence was held at the president's office on sunday. about 1,000 people attended, including representatives from other countries. taur matan ruak won last month's
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presidential election with an appeal for national unity. >> translator: the challenges that our country has to face will require my full attention and dedication during the first year of my term in office. i have decided that i will not travel abroad before may next year. >> reporter: morito aoyama is a japanese writer who visits east timor every year. having spent long periods of time in the country, he can judge its progress. in the 1990s, morito learned of human rights violations under indonesian rule. he began to support the struggle for an independent east timor. morito had published books on east timor to inform the world
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about this poorly understood nation. morito took us to a local market to see the realities of daily life. >> translator: the people of east timor are too reliant on imported produce. most ingredients for daily meals come from indonesia. >> translator: prices are very expensive. i brought $10, but it wasn't enough. so i decided to go back home. >> reporter: unemployment is high and domestic industries the poverty rate is as high as 40%. and more than 50% of children age 5 or younger are malnourished. the government has been working to increase self-sufficiency. but public officials say
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progress is slow. agriculture infrastructure is primitive and poorly maintained. this irrigation canal is filled with sand and mud, preventing the flow of water. the process of nation building in east timor appears desperately slow. but morito says the first decade was just the beginning. >> translator: they want development. but there are no engineers available. east timor hasn't seen any progress, especially in areas like improving infrastructure and cultivating human resources. it's said that education is a 100-year plan. i think it's too heartless to ask east timor to achieve results in 10 to 20 years. >> reporter: one of the biggest reason for the pace of development is simply human nature.
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east timor was under foreign rule for centuries. so it seems that indonesia must monitors the pace of change in this nation. nhk world's desy tanjung, delhi. >> that's going to wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. it's ruled economic blockade can make life difficult for palestinians in the gaza strip. local athlete competing in this summer's olympic games is lifting people's spirits. nhk world's basan shahada reports. >> reporter: 19-year-old bahaa al farra will run the 400 meter sprint. it won't be the first time he has competed internationally.
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at last year's in south korea he set a new record for palestine. now he is again giving the long-suffering people of gaza something to hope for. >> translator: i don't think anyone imagined that a boy from gaza would compete on the world stage. even if he doesn't win, he will make us proud. >> reporter: but gaza's training facilities don't meet olympic standards. the track that he practices on is rough. people are everywhere. hamas, the islamic movement allows farra to use the track only 90 minutes a day. hamas does not encourage sports and the palestinian authority does not help him much either.
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al farra goes through his paces as israeli fighter jets fly by. because of the limited amount of time on the track, he also practices on a beach. >> translator: it's difficult to train for the olympics in conditions like these, but i want to show the world that athletes from gaza can compete with the best. >> he's coached physically and mentally. abu marra was an olympic athlete himself, the first pal standin to compete in the games. in 1996 he ran in the 10,000-meter race in the atlanta olympics.
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>> translator: al farra is the symbol of palestine. his success would be a symbol of the crowd. we'll all be cheering him on. >> reporter: al farra is getting ready for the upcoming olympics with his help. >> translator: my dream is to stand on the winner's podium as the palestinian flag is raised and for palestine to be recognized as an independent state. >> reporter: that recognition means so much to palestinian athletes. for them, representing palestine in the olympics means more than winning. nhk world, gaza. people are lining up in the japanese capital to be the first to climb the world's tallest tower. the tokyo sky tree is just hours way from opening. it's 634 meters high. the tower has two panoramic
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observation decks. one is 350 meters above the ground, the other is at 450 meters. visitors will be able to see mt. fuji on the horizon on a clear day. tokyo sky tree officially opens at 10:00 a.m. japan time with a ribbon cutting ceremony. then the woman who won the contest to name the structure will go up to the observatory. the public will then have access as of noon. 7,500 people won a lottery to visit the broadcasting tower on opening day. the sky tree's operator issued tickets for the first 50 days to keep visitor numbers under control. hoping to visit that one day. sayaka mori joins us with the world weather forecast. >> good morning, catherine. it's going to be cool and wet today because a strong low-pressure system is approaching us, dragging cold and moist air from the
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northeast. the system is expected to move along the pacific coast. northern japan will see dreary conditions today. tomorrow is a different story. it's going to be sunny and warm. back behind it, dry across the korean peninsula and much of eastern portions of china. heavy rain in central portions of southern china is expected. more than 100 millimeters of rain is on the cards over the next 24 hours. the ground is already very well saturated, so any additional rain could trigger flooding as well as landslides. down toward southeast asia, scattered thundershowers, again, particularly wet in northern vietnam, as well as northern sections of the philippines today. temperature wise, 35 degrees expected for both manila and bangkok. clearing conditions in hong kong, with a high of 29 degrees. tokyo, very cool. 15 degrees. as we've been reporting, tokyo sky tree will open today, but it may be surrounded by clouds. now, heading over to the americas, we are keeping an eye
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on tropical storm alberto, which is still sitting off the southeast coast of the u.s. it's likely to move away from mainland u.s. and could become a remnant low by your wednesday morning. however, dangerous surf and rip currents should remain along the southeast coast through monday. as we pull back, wet conditions across the eastern section of the u.s. and canada, and out toward the west, there are a couple of low-pressure systems moving along the u.s./canada border. things will turn quite severe in parts of the northern plains. thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail are possible on your tuesday. down toward the south, severe weather can be found in parts of texas as well as eastern oklahoma tonight. temperature wise, still on the hot side across the southern u.s. and northern mexico. and even denver will be seeing a very hot day. 34 degrees expected on your tuesday. 29 in oklahoma city.
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out toward the east, a little bit warmer than monday. 26 degrees expected in d.c. finally, let's go over to europe. a couple of low-pressure systems will continue to produce inclement weather across the areas like western germany and italy. in northern italy, after a big earthquake occurred on your sunday, still more than 3,000 people are living in shelters. so conditions are quite tough for them. unfortunately, unstable weather here should remain into your wednesday. as for the highs, still very warm for this time of year across many locations. 27 in moscow. 28 in warsaw. 29 degrees in berlin. about average temperatures, 24 in london. but the exception is going to be rome, 17 degrees expected, under the influence of this storm. all right. here's your extended forecast.
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taking another look at this hour's top story before we leave you, nato leaders have reconfirmed their plan to wrap up their troops' combat role in afghanistan by the end of 2014. the leaders ended up a two-day summit monday in chicago. u.s. president barack obama says
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afghan forces will take the lead in combat operations across the country in 2013. >> there is real improvement in those areas where we've had a significant presence. you can see the taliban not having a foothold, that there is genuine improvement in the performance of afghan national security forces. >> obama and the other leaders decidedmporarily increase the number of afghan security personnel to 350,000. the size of the force will eventually be cut back to 230,000. nato members will continue to offer financial assistance to afghanistan after their troops pull out, but their concerns about the sustainability of this support because many nato countries are dealing with financial difficulties. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. y
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